Thrivelance Tools
An employee costs more than their salary. This calculator adds the employer-side taxes and statutory contributions — payroll tax, social security, pension, and more — to show the real annual cost of a hire and the loading on top of base pay, across six countries.
Employer on-costs only — what you pay on top of the salary.
Base salary
Employer on-costs
Total cost to employ
Cost loading
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Items marked “est.” (US state unemployment & workers' comp, AU workers' comp) vary by state and industry — adjust for your situation.
Every country layers statutory employer contributions on top of gross pay — for social security, pensions, unemployment, and injury cover. Depending on the country, these add roughly 10–21% before you count benefits, so a €60,000 salary can cost €70,000+ to employ.
Since April 2025 employer NI is 15% on pay above just £5,000. Eligible small employers can offset up to £10,500 of that with the Employment Allowance — which is why the UK figure can be much lower for a first or second hire. Toggle it to see the difference.
These on-costs are exactly what you avoid by engaging a contractor — but misclassifying an employee as a contractor to dodge them is risky. Check exposure with the Misclassification Risk Checker or compare options in the Hire Comparison Calculator.
Workers' compensation, US state unemployment (SUTA), and Australian payroll tax depend on your state, industry, and total payroll. We use representative averages for the estimated items and exclude payroll tax (most small employers fall under the threshold). Confirm your exact rates locally.
Common questions about this calculator.
Employer-side statutory on-costs typically add 10–21% on top of gross salary depending on the country, before benefits, equipment, and recruitment. This calculator totals the mandatory contributions and shows the loading multiplier on base pay.
US: Social Security, Medicare, FUTA, plus estimated SUTA and workers' comp. UK: employer National Insurance at 15% (less the £10,500 Employment Allowance) and 3% auto-enrolment pension. Canada: employer CPP and EI. Australia: 12% superannuation plus estimated workers' comp. Ireland: employer PRSI. Germany: pension, health, unemployment, and long-term care insurance.
Eligible small employers can claim the Employment Allowance, which offsets up to £10,500 of employer National Insurance a year. For a first or second hire this can wipe out most of the employer NI. Untick 'Small employer' to see the cost without it.
No. Workers' compensation, US state unemployment (SUTA), and Australian payroll tax vary by state, industry, and total payroll, so the items marked 'est.' use representative averages. Payroll tax is excluded because most small employers fall under the threshold. Confirm your exact rates locally.
These employer on-costs are largely what you avoid by engaging a contractor instead of an employee. But classification is a legal test, not a choice — pair this with a misclassification check before deciding.
